Spring Fest 2012

I'm about to blog about one of the greatest Mercyhurst experiences I've ever had. 

It was more than 6 months in the making, but Spring Fest 2012 has come and gone. MSG Events Coordinator, Shannon Kissel and I have been working very hard all year planning this classic weekend-long event, and I must say, it was a total success!

One happy Laker from her Walking Taco!

This year Spring Fest was a Cinco de Mayo theme, let me give you a run down of all that went on:

It all began at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning when Shannon, Adam (next year's SAC Chair) and I took a huge van to Sam's Club to buy tons of water, Gatorade, snacks, and dressing room hospitality. After 30 cases of drinks, and the other random things, our 15 passenger van was full!

The fun really began Thursday afternoon when two huge trucks pulled into Mercyhurst University. These two trucks contained all the "magic" for our annual Spring Fest concert. We had tons of volunteers, two MSG executive boards, and two SAC executive boards, plus the production company building the stage, setting the lights, and hooking up sound. It took about four for five hours to set, and everyone was tired and sweaty when we were finished.

Friday afternoon Shannon and I planned a Walking Taco station to give out 300 free "tacos in a bag" to students who walked by in Garvey Park. They were served from a huge yellow Culinary Cab that our dining services, Parkhurst, debuted for the first time that afternoon. If you don't know what a walking taco is, it's a bag of Doritos crushed up topped with taco meat, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and salsa. They were absolutely delicious and they students loved them!

Friday night was also the concert. Before the concert while students were loading in and between sets we had one of MU's own, DJ b-Lang, spin records for us. He was awesome and got the party going. Then we had a STOMP-like percussion group called Industrial Rhythm perform the opening slot to really pump students up for this year's headliner – Sean Kingston. When Sean Kingston took the stage, it was ridiculous. I don't think I've ever seen a Spring Fest more packed. We gave out 1500 free tickets, and we got over 95% of them back in the doors, and after letting in a few stragglers, we were at maximum capacity. I can't believe we sold out and packed in a full house! During the concert I even got to go on stage and throw out glow-sticks, sombreros, and tshirts.

Sean Kingston performing in our Mercyhurst Athletic Center

When Sean Kingston took the stage, he sang all of the songs that everyone know. These included: Fire Buring, Eenie Meenie, Like a Melody, Beautiful Girls, and Letting Go, just to name a few. He even sang a new track off of the album he is releasing shortly. It's called Back 2 Life, it features TI and Nicki Minaj and it was a hot beat! Also, another special touch was when he got a few girls to come on stage when he sang Beautiful Girls. Not going to lie, I was a little jealous that Mr. Kingston didn't ask me on stage! But that's okay, I did snag a picture with him later – just Shannon, Sean Kingston and me!

Now immediately following the concert, we have to tear down the stage we just built, load it all in the trucks, and send them on their way. This was my third year helping with the stage for Spring Fest and every year, it breaks my heart to build a stage and then rip it down only a few hours later. When everything was said and done Friday night, and the trucks were pulling away, it was about 2:30 in the morning. And we were only half way done with the weekend at the point!

Saturday afternoon was the last portion of the Spring Fest activities. We emptied out a parking lot on campus and held a Cinco de Mayo of our own. It was complete with Erie's own, The Romantic Era, DJ b-Lang for a second day (because he's that great!!!), an inflatable obstacle course, a giant dual lane slip-n-slide, photo booths, air brush tattoos, a sandy candy bar, a caricaturist, Rita's Italian Ice and a full Mexican fiesta buffet. The day activities ran from 1 to 5 p.m. and it was a great flow of students. It was wonderful to see all of these students appreciating and enjoying something that Shannon and I have worked on so hard all year. Though this was my last event (and blog) as the SAC Chair, I am honored to do it all over again next year as MSG Events Coordinator (and blog about that too!). Both the MSG and SAC boards and volunteers surprised Shannon and I with flowers at the end of the weekend, it was too sweet and I really appreciate all of the hard work everyone put into this event for me. From building the stage with our bare hands on Thursday, during the concert and stage break down on Friday, and throughout the day on Saturday, I was truly blessed to have worked with such wonderful people.

Shannon on the left and me on the right after a loooong Spring Fest weekend!

I am so honored that the Mercyhurst community keeps giving me opportunities to do things like this. I get to meet awesome people and work with a fantastic group of students on a day to day basis. I know that so many students across campus, whether they vocalize it or not, enjoy what students like me do. I promise to continue to seize each opportunity that comes my way, to give students the best time on campus as possible. Because to me, this is what it means to be a MU Laker. Carpe Diem!

Winter Wonderland!

A biiig hello from the newly announced MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY!

SAC and LSC had a week packed with events. It all started on Thursday when LSC cheered on our Men's Wrestling team on against Gannon, our hometown rival. LSC had an army/camo theme in the cheering section. We had an obstacle course set up with a dirt pudding station to refuel. It was a great match to watch, and our boys won!
     

See the snowboard and snow globe?

SAC had a weekend full of winter weathered bliss! On Friday we had a classic SAC event, Winterfest. It happens every year, it's a traditional winter festival that celebrates all different winter activities. Chick-fil-A sandwiches are a signature item at most Winterfests, along with Tim Horton's hot chocolate, with tons of cookies, brownies, popcorn, and much more! At the event over 200 students showed up to grab a free t-shirt, make homemade lip balm, concoct gel creations (since we aren't allowed candles in our residence halls!), pose for a caricature, give it a go at virtual snowboarding and take a picture in a giant snow-globe! The event started at 7 p.m. in our Student Union and there was a line for activities starting around 6:30 p.m. It was so nice to see students excited for such a classic SAC tradition!
   
   

Matt and me!

On Saturday SAC hosted a Snowflake Ball. It was an occasion to dress up with friends and dance the night away! We had Erie's famous DJ Bill Page from local radio station STAR 104 supplying the beats for the dance. Our on campus dining service, Parkhurst, completed the night with mini desserts like chocolate covered strawberries, mini lemon and raspberry tarts, as well as chocolate covered cherry bites, to name a few. The Student Union was transformed, once again, into an icy looking winter wonderland... you hardly remembered you were even on campus! This was also a great opportunity for SAC to relax and dance the night away with all of our friends on campus. My boyfriend, Matt even came up to take me to the dance. He goes to school, back home in Pittsburgh, at a local university and every chance I get to see him is awesome! I know I had a fabulous time, as well as many other Lakers, and am excited to see if this is something that students would like SAC to continue to do annually.
    

¡Esta delicioso!

Now, I know I generally only post about SAC and LSC happenings, but I thought you might like to know what I do outside of studying, classes, and SAC/LSC events. Today (Sunday), I went to a delicious restaurant that is unique to Erie – El Canelo. It serves authentic Mexican cuisine that beats Taco Bell by a long shot! The service is pretty quick, and they seat you with a big basket of fresh tortilla chips and homemade salsa. I had a delicious taco salad while by boyfriend Matt over there enjoyed beef enchiladas and tacos. Another great thing about El Canelo is it's friendly to a college kid's budget. Matt and I ate until we were stuffed for about $13. It doesn't get much better than that!
  
 
    
Well, that's all I have for this week... Next weekend, we have Grocery Bingo – which every college kid loves! And "Chopped: MU Style" featuring celebrity chef Mary Sue Milliken. She's been on Top Chef, Oprah, and Iron Chef America to name a few and students will get to compete in culinary challenges with Mary Sue as a judge! Next weekend is making me hungry already... I'll be back next week to tell you all the tasty details!